Posts tagged ‘Hyosung’

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Jon Syverson, former Sales Manager of Harley-Davidson, has joined ATK as the new Executive Vice President. As VP he will be in charge of setting up a dealer base and leading the sales of ATK’s new line of Hyosung based streetbikes. Jon’s experience as a District and Regional Manager along with his successful tenure leading the fleet sales division of HD should greatly help ATK get a foothold in the US market.

It is also no secret that the dealerbase ATK is really interested in are those of Syverson’s old stomping ground, Harley-Davidson. ATK wants to be a rider’s first step into the Harley Davidson family by providing a 250cc and 650cc vTwin cruiser under the American ATK brand. This would not involve The Motor Company directly, just select HD dealerships who like the idea of filling the void left by the entry level Buell Blast. The first step in the HD line is the 883 Sportster. Most agree it’s a little too heavy and expensive for most beginners.

Congrats to Matt Kellerman, Powersports Outlet Racing and Hyosung for the amazing performance in CCS Southwest this year!

Press Release follows:

Firebird Raceway, Chandler AZ Nov 14th 2010: After a long season beginning back in January, Powersports Outlet Racing won the CCS Southwest Lightweight Championship aboard their Hyosung GT 650R. The weather was perfect for the last race of the season and the team took advantage with two race wins and two second places on the day. Although a rules change this year did not allow the Lightweight Bikes to fight for the Overall #1 plate, the team took pride in knowing that they amassed the most points and would have won the overall expert plate any other year. When all was said and done the team won all classes they contested: LW GP, LW Superbike, ULW Superbike, Thunderbike and the Overall Lightweight Championship.

“It was a great year for the team. We have been racing the Hyosung GT 650R for 4 seasons and all the hard work really paid off this year. We jumped out to an early lead this year, winning the first 9 sprint races in a row, and only finished off the podium in one race all year. I have to thank my friends and pit crew Tim and Annette Flood for all their support. Also, a big thanks to Powersports Outlet for their sponsorship, Jim Cox Racing for providing the great Dunlop tires, the Crew of CCS SW for putting on a great race series, and Hyosung Motors USA for their parts support.”

Powersports Outlet Racing is currently gearing up to contest the WERA West series in 2011. The little Korean bike that could, has proven itself to be a reliable, race winning machine and we are proud to be associated with a great up and coming brand. We look forward to competing on a larger stage next year and showing off the potential of the Hyosung GT 650R.

Powersports Outlet Racing is based out of Prescott, AZ and has raced the Hyosung GT 650R since 2006. They have had countless podium finishes, multiple race wins, and class championships. If you are interested in the unique sponsorship opportunities they can provide contact the team at 928-778-7910 or email: shop@epfguzzi.com

Hyosung USA posted pictures of their 2011 GT and GV lines and their new ST-E3 EVA electric scooter.

The 2011 GT650 and GT250 lines get bold new graphics added to last years tail section restyling.

The biggest news is the introduction of the ST-E3 EVA electric scooters first unveiled at Intermot by parent company S&T Motors. The hub motor of the classically styled scooters is powered by a Lithium-polymer battery pack rated for 40 Ah. Hyosung claims a 74.5 mile range at 21 mph.

On May 25 Frank White of ATK USA and Taekwon Kim of S&T Motors signed a four year deal for ATK to rebrand and sell S&T vTwin motorcycles in the United States.

This is not the first agreement between S&T Motors and another powersports company to rebrand the Hyosung product line. United Motors had a four year deal to rebadged the Hyosung sport bikes, scooters and cruisers and eventually build their own bikes based on the Hyosung engine. In early 2009 United Motors closed it’s doors leaving a hole in S&T’s production output. Fischer Motors also produces the high spec Fischer MRX650 using a Hyosung 650cc engine licensed through S&T Motors.

The previous relationship between S&T and United Motors did cause some territorial disputes between UM and Hyosung USA, S&T Motor’s US distributor. No mention is made on any limits to territories ATK can sell the re-branded machines.

It is interesting that Harley Davidson does not acknowledge ATK’s plans to provide Harley dealerships with small to medium displacement vTwin cruisers. It is common to see scooters on the sales floor of Harley dealerships and with the Buell Blast no longer available for HD’s training programs the 250cc ATK cruisers should make a nice learner bike. This air cooled vTwin has a low seat height and is capable of 90 mph speeds.

Despite a poor economy and the absence of many big motorcycle brands Hyosung Motors America had strong presents at the 2010 Cycle World International Motorcycle show in Chicago. I chatted with Hyosung Motors America President Tony Kim and Regional Sales Manager Hyon Ko about the 2010 models and bikes in the works. Tony Kim confirmed that later this year or early next year we will see an all electric scooter from Hyosung available here in the states. The Gem 4.0 and 2.0 were first unveiled at EICMA late last year.

Hyosung unveiled the ST7 cruiser earlier this year at EICMA but the 700cc liquid cooled twin made it’s first US appearance at the Chicago show. The South Korea based company also displayed the newly redesigned GT250 and GT250R with redesigned tail section, black triple tree and fuel injection.

I captured some poor quality video on my iphone of the ST7 and Hyosung GT250R. Have a look and be sure to check the bikes out this weekend if your at the Chicago IMS show.

United Motors quietly closed their doors February 1, 2010. They had what seemed to be a solid business importing Jincheng motorcycles from China after input on specs and quality and rebadging them as UM. A few years ago they began a deal with Hyosung (S&T Motors) to rebadged the 650c and 250cc models as UM. The multi-phase deal would eventually lead to Hyosung engined bikes designed by UM. The deal did not sit well with Hyosung US and rightfully so. The UM bikes began to sell better than the Hyosung brand in the states and dealer locations were not spaced far enough apart to protect Hyosung USA dealer territory.

All the details are not available about how UM met its fate. GE Money, the firm that loans money to dealers to stock the showroom, took possession of all United Motors inventory. A United Motors Group member in China called UM Global is still in business. Although this is strange it might offer hope for UM powersports owners who have warranty claims. If you have more information about UM’s fate and its possible future in UM Global please leave a comment or email admin [at] othermakes.net.

Looks like the Hyosung GV700i is official, only it will be called the ST7. The Hyosung ST7 should be on boats to dealers now and will be available in two models. Hyosung Motors parent company S&T Motors Korea explains it this way:

At the last EICMA 2009, the most popular model ST7 was the traditional cruiser motorcycle which is more perfect for long distance cruising than the sports cruiser Aquila 650.

The name ST7 is derived from the initials of ‘SUPER & TOP’, ‘SAFETY TRAVEL’, ‘SATISFACTORY TOUR’, ‘700cc engine solely developed by S&T Motors R&D departments’ and ‘symbol of lucky’. So the ST7 represents safe travel, and that is what brings lucky driving to you. And the ST7 is stresses the best performance and top quality in its class.

ST7 has the unique appeal of a mixed classical and sports style. Installed is a DHOC 8valve 90° V-TWIN engine with expanded displacement from 650cc to 700cc. This gives impressive low and mid-range performance fit into the theme of tour/cruising.

The frame of a traditional cruiser will give a comfortable riding position, neutral handling with a powerful engine.

ST7 will be released and will begin exporting at the end of January. There are two type of models; Standard and Deluxe (Deluxe comes installed with full accessories), and both come in black, red and white color.

We have not received confirmation that S&T Motors will have the new GV700i Hyosung in the 2010 line up but judging by the pics our friends at Asphalt And Rubber sent me bike is looking very production ready. The classic styled liquid cooled vTwin is based on the flexible 650 that sits in Hyosung’s GV650 cruiser and GT650 sport bike line. The engine block is painted black and the valve covers and engine cases receive a chrome finish. A red GV700i with leather side bags with red stitching, windshield and case guards showed off Hyosung’s potential to accessorize the line. Dual exhaust pipes, chrome wheels, full coverage fenders and a tank mounted speedometer further differentiate the classic Aquila from it’s sporty cousin, the gv650 Avitar.

Dale Franks is reporting that US based ATK and South Korea based S&T Motors have entered into an agreement where ATK badged Hyosungs (owned by S&T) will be built in the USA by ATK and sold by select Harley dealerships. The company Harley Davidson is not involved in the deal, the dealerships are taking it upon themselves to work with Frank White, one of ATK’s owners.

The press release on Dale’s site is vague about what models will come out of the agreement but it mentions ATK will leverage Hyosungs street bikes and S&T will leverage ATK’s dirtbike knowledge. Frank White explains:

By joining forces, we believe, we believe we can strengthen our distribution network, reduce our production co sts, spread development costs and substantially accelerate our entry into the street bike business. We also look forward to sharing some of our off-road technology with S&T.

Dale goes on to mention that his sources say a plan is being considered for ATK to restyle and rebrand the GT and GV series of sport bikes and cruisers including the classic styled GV700 introduced this week at EICMA. This would not be a big strech for S&T.

Hyosung is known to be more than willing to allow other companies to rebrand their bikes. The flexibility and quality of the Hyosung products and engines makes it a great option for a marque to leverage for breaking into new markets without the cost of tooling up and staffing production.

United Motors sells most of the Hyosung product line in the US with it’s own graphics and has long term agreement to build it’s own bike around the 650 and 250 cc Hyosung vTwins. Italjet was working on a new version of the Griffon which was a restyled Hyosung GT650 and Fischer Motors uses the GT650 engine in it’s MRX650.

This partnership is a win for all groups involved. ATK may be able to diversify from being a low production niche dirtbike manufacturer and add sport bikes and cruisers to it’s lineup. Hyosung will increase sales using a brand agnostic production driven formula they are very comfortable with. S&T Motors displayed 450cc prototypes of supermoto and dirt machines which were well received by enthusiasts. I’m sure ATK would do a great job helping them make the bikes a reality.

This will be an interesting development to watch unfold. Follow the source link below to Dale’s site to see the press release.

Rumor has it Hyosung will be unvieling the GV700i at Milan in November. The new Aquila has the classic GV cruiser look with the liquid cooled 650 90 degree vTwin bored out to 700cc.

Guys racing the GT650 have successfully bored the engine to almost 700cc with good results and reliablility. There has been quite a few requests on the Hyosung forums for a GV650 cruiser with classic cruiser styling. Looks like Hyosung is listening.